


Dear Tyrus

by Musical_sloth



Category: Andi Mack (TV), Dear Evan Hansen
Genre: Gen, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Themes, Musical References, Musicals
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-13
Updated: 2019-06-13
Packaged: 2020-03-02 18:05:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18816205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Musical_sloth/pseuds/Musical_sloth
Summary: A Tyrus fan fic based on the soundtrack from Dear Evan Hansen





	1. Anybody have a map?

Anybody have a map? Anybody maybe happen to know how the hell to do this? I don’t know if can tell but this is me just pretending to know! So where the map? I need a clue because I’m flying blind and I’m making this up as I go.... 

“Cyrus, honey have you done your homework?” Mrs Goodman chirped up the stairs to her only son. 

“Yes, Mom.” He groaned back, turning his concentration back to his laptop. Of course Cyrus has done his homework, it’s not like had anything better to do at the weekend. Buffy had moved to Phoenix with her mom and Andi had moved out of Shadyside when her parents bought a new apartment. He still had a Jonah but he was so busy practicing ultimate he hardly saw him.

Today is the first day back at school after spring break... the first day without my friends, Cyrus thought. Cyrus had no idea how he was going to get through the rest of middle school without Andi and Buffy. They know him better than anyone, better than his four parents did. Cyrus couldn’t imagine being that close with anyone else. 

“Cyrus, if you don’t leave now you’re going to be late! You don’t want detention on your first day back. Young man, you don’t want detention period!”

Cyrus looks at the clock. She’s right, he thought. He grabs his bad and runs down the stairs. Mrs Goodman is waiting by the front door with a lunch box. She sees the sad look on her sons face and gives him a sympathetic smile. “Come on, Cyrus. Try and stay positive about today. I know it’s scary, but you’re friends moving away doesn’t have to be the end of the world. Think of it as an opportunity to make new friends.” 

Cyrus manages a smile to please his mom. He takes his lunch and puts it in his bag. Cyrus gives his mom a quick hug and heads out the door to school. 

“I’m proud of you already!”

“Oh, thanks. Bye mom.” 

—-

“Mom! T.J. finished the milk!” Amber yells at her brother. T.J. rolls his eyes and continues to eat his cereal.

“T.J. you don’t need that much milk on your cereal.” Mr Kippen scolds without looking up from his phone. 

“Told you!”

“Fine, have it!” T.J. pushes the bowl across the table to his sister where it spills into her lap. He grabs a slice of toast and walks off to his room. 

The blonde girl screams.

“T.J. Kippen, get back in this kitchen!” Mrs Kippen yells, making the boy stop in his tracks. He turns around and rolls his eyes.

“What?”He yells. “She wanted the milk so I gave it to her.” He throws his hands in the air and walks straight out of the front door. 

“Scott I thought you were going to talk to him?” Mrs Kippen sighs, helping her daughter dry off. 

“I’ve tried talking to him but he doesn’t listen.” He says defensively, not looking up from his phone.

“T.J. doesn’t listen to anyone.” Amber retorts.

“Honey, go upstairs and change. You’re going to be late for school.”

“Mom he’s ruined my new top!”

“It’s just milk, Amber! It’ll wash out.” She says sounding defeated. She notices T.J. bag by the door. “Amber can you take T.J. his bag when you go?”

“No way!” She scoffs.


	2. On the outside always looking in

On the outside always looking in will I ever be more than I’ve always been? Because I’m tap tap taping on the glass... waving through a window. Can anybody see? Is anybody waving back at me?

Nobody knew how alone T.J. felt. He was the most popular kid in school, captain of the basketball and extremely confident. But popularity didn’t mean friends, basketball meant pressure to do well and confidence is just a front. The truth is T.J. had a lot of stuff... a lot. But he had no one to talk to about it. 

T.J. felt completely alone as he walked into school that morning. He walks to his locker and pretends to look at his phone. He watches everyone walk by, greeting each-other and smiling. No one would dare to smile at T.J..... he has a bit of a rep for being a bully. But that’s just another front. He notices a small brown haired boy across the hall who looked just as miserable as he did. It’s the boy from the swings, T.J. thought to himself. Cyrus! He remembered how nice the boy was to him that day. He remembered that he’s Buffy’s friend. Then he remembered that Buffy had gone... Andi too. T.J. never remembered Cyrus hanging out with anyone else.....

“Hey, Underdog!” T.J. calls cheerfully, walking over to the startled boy.

“Ugh T.J?” Cyrus frowns. He’s a little confused. Why is the Captain of the basketball team and Buffy’s bully talking to him in school? Sure Cyrus helped him that one time at the swings but they haven’t spoken since....

“I’m sorry Buffy moved away.” He said earnestly 

“Why? You were horrible to her.” Cyrus retorts. The tall boy looks down, ashamed of how he treated Buffy. 

“I know I was.” He said truthfully. I wish I could tell her how sorry I am. Im not a bad person, Cyrus. It’s like I told you that day at the swings... I got stuff and-“

“I’ve got stuff too T.J.” he shrugs. “Having stuff doesn’t give you a free pass to behave however you want, especially if you hurt other people because of it.”

Wow this boy really knows where to punch. T.J. thought. “I know I know, it’s not an excuse... I guess I just don’t know how to handle things like you do.”

Cyrus shakes his head. “You think I know how to handle things? I have no idea what I’m doing! I just know that it doesn’t do any harm to be nice. Also having really supportive friends help to-“ Then he remembers that Andi and Buffy aren’t here anymore. A sad expression appears on the boys friends. T.J. sees the look and feels bad for the boy. 

“Cyrus, they’re still you’re friends, wherever they are. You’re lucky you know. You have people to lean on. I don’t.” He shrugs and looks at the floor, for some reason T.J. is nervous. The smaller boy looks up and suddenly feels sympathetic. He imagines how he would’ve dealt with his stuff without his friends.... the thought sends a shiver down his spine.

“You don’t.” He says quietly.

T.J. shakes his head. “I don’t.” 

“You know where to find me.” He says softly and begins to walk away from the jock. T.J. frowns then turns around towards Cyrus.

“Think I’ll find you there today?” The small boy smiles and nods. “See you later, Underdog.” 

T.J. smiles to himself, maybe he did have someone to talk to all along, he just hadn’t known it. He puts on his headphones and walks to class. The sound of Dear Evan Hansen drowns out the noisy school. “When you’re falling in a forest and there’s nobody around, all you want is for somebody to find you.” Something else that T.J. has kept to himself.... he is a big musical nerd!


	3. Ice cream and trees

End of May or early June, a picture perfect afternoon we share.... 

Cyrus wasn’t planning to go to the park that day but he couldn’t get the blonde jock out of his head. When he got to the swings and saw TJ there alone Cyrus suddenly felt very guilty. Even though Buffy had moved away, Cyrus felt like he was betraying her by hanging out with the boy who’d been awful to her. Cyrus turned to walk away but T.J. looked up. “Cyrus? You came.” He smiled and sounded relieved and almost greatful that Cyrus had shown. Now Cyrus felt guilty for almost blowing him off!

Cyrus didn’t have it in him to hurt anyone, even if it was the bully T.J. Kippen. “Of course I came! I said I was going to.” Cyrus chirped, forcing a smile.

“I wouldn’t have blamed you if you hadn’t shown.” The jock said softly, looking solemnly at the ground. Cyrus had always trusted his instincts, and now they were telling him that there was more to T.J. than everyone thought. Cyrus had thought this months ago the first time they met at the swings. But he hadn’t spoken to him since so he forgot. 

“Shall we take a walk? I know this great ice cream place my parents took me to before they got divorced.” T.J. looked up and smiled at the kind, smaller boy. 

“Sounds great!”

“Its a bit of a walk but I get the feeling we’ve got a lot to talk about. I just hope it’s still there! I haven’t been there since I was little.” Cyrus chuckled. 

“What made you think of it?” The tall boy asked. 

“I’m not sure.” Cyrus shrugged. “It’s just such a beautiful afternoon and I’m hungry!” This wasn’t a total lie.... it was a lovely afternoon and Cyrus was hungry. But he also wanted a fresh start. If he and T.J. became friends he didn’t want to hang out at the same places he did with Buffy and Andi, especially as they wouldn’t approve of their friendship. 

The two boy walked and talked for an hour and a half before reaching À La Mode. Time had flown by and Cyrus had made up his mind that Buffy had been wrong about T.J. Sure he was a bully, but Cyrus could see through that and saw a kind, sensitive, hilarious and adorable boy.

T.J. was totally relaxed around Cyrus. For the first time in a long time he felt like he could be himself. He knew he could be a horrible person but that wasn’t who he wanted to be. But T.J. couldn’t see away out, his family and friends treated him as a mean person, a typical jock. He didn’t know how to change their minds and make them see the real T.J. The boys got their ice creams and sat in a nearby fields next to a wood. The blue sky, warm sunshine and delightful ice cream filled the two unlike friends with happiness and they forgot about their problems for a while. 

“So what music do you listen to?” Cyrus asked.  
“I’m not really into music.” T.J. shrugged, hoping Cyrus would leave it at that.  
The smaller boy chuckled. “Come on Teej. I’ve seen you walking around school with your headphones. Actually I hardly see you without them. 

“Underdog I’m flattered. I never knew you payed so close attention to me!” The jock teased, deflecting from the music subject. T.J. notices Cyrus blush, he’s cute when he’s embarrassed he thought. 

“T.J!” He whined. Playfully pushing his arm, making his ice cream collide with his nose. 

“Cyrus!” He mimicked back. He turned to look at Cyrus. “I look like rudolf!” They both staring laughing.

“Well it’s your fault for choosing raspberry sorbet!” He teased, thinking how cute T.J. looked with ice cream on his nose. He couldn’t believe that this was the same boy he’d seen around school, the same boy that had been mean to his best friend, the same boy that had terrified him and made his heart flutter at the same time. “Come on Teej! Tell me!”

The tall boy rolled his eyes, he couldn’t disobey Cyrus! “Fine. But this is sort of embarrassing.”

Cyrus smirked. “More embarrassing than looking like a beloved Christmas figure? Although you’d made a pretty cute reindeer.”

“Yes! Wait.” T.J. frowned. “Did you just call me cute Underdog?” T.J. notices Cyrus cheeks going red again and mentally smiles.

“Well yeah... if you were a reindeer.” He said smoothly, trying to justify calling T.J. cute. “I think reindeers are cute! So what?” He says a little too defensively. 

T.J. grins and shakes his head. He decided to drop it.... for now. “I listen to musical soundtracks.” He whispers, not wanting to look Cyrus in the eye. 

“And whats wrong with that?” Cyrus asks, completely unphased. T.J. looks up and sees a welcoming and slightly confused expression on his new friends face.

“Nothing I guess.” He shrugs. “I guess it just doesn’t coincide with my personality.” Cyrus laughs. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing! It’s just.... well your personality doesn’t really coincide with your personality.”

“What do you mean?” The jock asks in confusion. Cyrus sighs and looks up at the dumbstruck blonde.

“Don’t take this the wrong way Teej.... but you’re a totally different person right now than how you normally are. The tall boy nods.

“You’re right. I guess my music taste does go with my real personality but not the personality that everyone sees.”

“Exactly.” He says softly. “So what’s your favourite musical?” T.J. raises his eyebrows in amazement.

“You like musicals, Underdog?” He asked 

“Uh yeah! Who doesn’t!” He says enthusiastically.

“The basketball team for a start!” They both laugh. “I guess my favourite musical is probably Dear Evan Hansen.”

“Ooh I love that one! It’s one of my favourites too!”

“Yeah? I listen to it all the time. I guess I can relate to it a lot.”

“I get that.” Cyrus says in an understanding tone. “Same here.” T.J. had never opened up to anyone like he had this afternoon with Cyrus. He started to panic that he had told him a little too much. 

“Wanta go and explore the forest?” T.J. asks, suddenly feeling uncomfortable with much Cyrus knew about him. 

“Sure.” Cyrus shrugged. 

—-

“Come on TJ, get up here.” Cyrus called from the top of a high tree.

“Cyrus! Please come down, you’re not safe being that high up!” T.J. pleaded up the tree to the smaller boy. He wished they’d never gone into the forest. 

“I’m fine, Teej! It’s great up here, you can see the whole park!” Cyrus loved climbing trees, in a tree he felt tall and safe and he could let his worried slip away. 

“Cyrus, I’m begging you come down!” T.J. sounded desperate now. Despite not knowing Cyrus too well, he cared for him in a way he didn’t yet understand, and didn’t want anything to happen to the boy. 

Cyrus could hear the panic in the jocks voice and felt bad for making him worry. “Okay, I’m coming down.” He said calmly and started to climb down the tree. Even though Cyrus had decent experience in tree climbing, he lost his grip about half way down and fell to the ground.

“Cyrus!” T.J. screamed as he ran towards the boy on the ground. Cyrus yelled in pain, he’d landed awkwardly on his leg. “Oh my god, Cyrus! Your leg should not be that shape!”

“Do you think it’s broken?” He asked with his eyes firmly shut not wanting to know the answer. Cyrus was pretty sure he was bleeding and he hated the sight of blood.

“I’m not a doctor Cy but I’d say it was definitely broken. I’m going to call 911, don’t move.” T.J. whipped out his phone to call the paramedics but there was no signal. “Cy, there’s no signal, I’m going to run back to the ice cream place and get some help-“

“No!” Cyrus yelped. “Please don’t leave me on my own T.J.”

T.J. put his arms on Cyrus’ shoulders. “Cyrus, look at me.” The small boy reluctantly opened his eyes and sees T.J. in front of him. “I know you’re scared.” He said softy. “But we don’t have a choice, you can’t move until someones had a look at your leg and I can’t phone for help. Cyrus you need to trust me. I hope I’ve proved to you today that I’m not the jerk everyone thinks I am. I promise back as soon as I can. The small boy looks into T.J’s green eyes and nods. T.J. smiles, takes of his hoody and wraps it around his friend. “I don’t want you to get cold.” He says softly. 

“Thanks T.J.”

“I’ll be back soon Cyrus, I promise.” Cyrus watches T.J. run down the path without doubting that he would be back soon with help.


End file.
